Lion Guard: The Kindest Amongst Hearts
by GrammarKnighty
Summary: Lion Guard is a team consisting a lion, a honey badger, a hippo, an egret, a cheetah, and its most kindhearted member, a hyena. Together, they defend the Pridelands and protect the Circle of Life, making sure everything is in balance, Hakuna Matata all the way- "And sisi ni sawa," ...and Sisi Ni Sawa.
1. Spots of Hyenas (Part 1)

**Hello, I'm new in Fanfiction. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1**

~~~

"Quick, before anyone got hurt!" Jasiri heard Kion say as they and the other guards raced for a herd of oryxes. Just earlier, Ono informed them of the herd somehow getting messed up while patrolling. Now they needed to calm the herd down so no unwanted injury happen.

While on their way though, a whining moan got the hyena's attention. She stopped, looking between her friends' shrinking figures and a quite thick grove of trees behind her, from which the sound was coming. The moan continued. Her common sense finally won over and she found herself looking for the source of the distressed voice. It was revealed to her in the form of one male elephant calf, stuck in tree vines and hung in the air, upside-down. He didn't take notice of her. A few other animals his size around him though, most probably his friends, saw and took the chance to bolt away as fast as they could.

"Where are you all going? I need help here!" the calf tried to call his friend but was ignored.

"Um, hello? I can help," Jasiri neared him. His eyes went wide the moment he saw her.

"Aah, hyena!" The reaction she got was surprising, but not entirely entirely unexpected. He moved his feet and trunk about, trying to get away while being stuck. The tree he was hanging from just shook slightly. The act brought out a laugh from said hyena's mouth, which further encouraged him to do so.

Jasiri did her best to contain her laugh. "Now, now, I'm not going to eat you. I'm already full," The elephant was definitely not buying it. Even if he did, he must still be freaking out, afraid she will eat him once her stomach emptied itself. "Okay, listen here. I'm not going to hurt you, or eat you, or do anything to harm you. I'm going to free you. Am I clear?" The elephant nodded quickly.

"Alright, how do we do this," Jasiri examined the vines. She clearly couldn't release him just by claw, as the vines were thick and somehow fully enveloped him. "This may take quite a while. Can you wait?" The elephant just nodded, this time slowly.

Jasiri looked for some leaves for soft landing once he was free and found a bush big enough for his size. It would be some time before she fully set him free, so she would give some friendly comments and teases once in awhile just to push away the silence.

"So you thought it was a good idea to use the vine to get to that branch with your friends' help, but somehow got yourself stuck instead?" the hyena asked after he told her the reason he got into this condition. She was obviously amused, but could not laugh as both her claws and teeth were being used to cut the vines.

"It's not funny! It was just an accident," The elephant furiously defended himself, to which she just laughed over, as much as she could.

"Really? Did this accident happen because you didn't listen to your friends' advice even though they most probably had a point by any chance," she guessed, her teeth now aching a bit.

The elephant sighed. "I'm sorry. I just want to know what it feels like to be up there," He looked down, more like up in his case, apologizing. "But how do you know? I've been stuck here like forever! Well, maybe just since this morning," he looked into the hyena's eyes with his head still upside-down.

Jasiri didn't think long for the answer. "Trust me. I have a friend who was just like you. In fact, I think he still is." She chuckled a bit. "He's probably got himself into trouble by now. Just yesterday he fell into a mud for not listening to my advice while we were 'rescuing' Zuri's fur. I told him it was slippery, but no. Being the stubborn cub he was, he ignored my advice and keep on moving forward. In the end, his fur is the thing that needed to be 'rescued'. Luckily only his mother had to do it. I don't think my tongue could have handled doing that," Jasiri finished telling her story and found a pair of innocent eyes looking at her in awe.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"You're not evil,"

"What?" Jasiri said, not comprehending.

"You're not evil like what they said about you," he explained.

Jasiri was taken aback and stopped freeing him for awhile. "Of course I'm not evil. Why would you think so?"

"Well, my parents told me to never go near you. My friends too said the same thing. Those hyenas that kept causing problem," the calf said before realizing what they had done earlier. "My friends! They left me behind," He groaned, putting his hoofs in his face.

Jasiri took the moment to reach her paw to his slumped shoulder, or at least to the vines that was in between the shoulder and her paw. "Hey, don't worry. They will come back. If not, well… They did try to stop you from climbing earlier, didn't they? They will surely come back," she kindly told him with a smile. "I can accompany you in the meantime, not that I have any other choice," Her comment, despite being slightly sarcastic, brought out a thankful smile from the calf.

Meanwhile on another part of the Pridelands, the remaining members of the Lion Guard had found out the cause of the herd's problem.

"Hyenas, I told you to stay out of the Pridelands!" Kion shouted to Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu.

"Did you now? My stomach keeps forgetting," Janja joked. Chungu laughed at that.

"His stomach forgets! That's a good one,"

"Go!" the lion cub roared, causing those hyenas to flee. He turned. "Lion guard, calm down the herd! I'll take care of these guys,"

"You got it!" Fuli told him as he began his chase.

Sometimes, Kion wondered whether hyenas really had no brain as they had been rumored. It was literally--figuratively actually--the hundredth time he warned them to not step into the Pridelands, and yet, they kept coming back for more of his roar. But still though, Jasiri herself was a hyena but she proved herself to be quite smart and had many times suggested ideas that made improvements for the guard. He guessed that it was only males, hyenas of course, that were stupid, such as the ones he was chasing into the Outlands.

The three crossed an old, rotting log bordering between their home and his with a river below, its current being strong. "That's it, back to the Outlands. Now!" Somehow, the lion cub stupidly decided to stop halfway on the log without considering the consequences should it break, and break it did. Kion fell into the river and only submerged with the help of a part of the log, coughing water.

Ono, who had just along with the others calm the herd down, saw the lion cub after being told to check on him. "Hapana! Everyone, everyone, Kion's in trouble. Come on," He went first since he knew where his leader was.

Kion meanwhile had a hard time being pushed by the water current. A rock stood on his path and he almost fell. "Woah!"

"Hang on Kion! We're coming," Bunga and the others followed along the river bank. The honey badger decided to jump in.

"Little B, don't! The current's too strong,"

Fuli ordered Ono to keep following Kion while she and Beshte helped Bunga. The hippo took advantage of his weight and managed in bringing his friend back to the ground. "Thanks, big B,"

"Hang in there, Kion," Ono dived closer to his leader. Another big rock stood on the lion's path. "Oh no, Kion, look out! Rock, straight ahead!"

After some more hitting, diving, and being pushed, the river current brought him close enough to the bank for him to climb to the dry ground. He coughed and collapsed.

"Kion, are you alright?" He heard Bunga shouting from the other side. He managed enough strenght to stand and reply back.

"A little wet, but I'm okay,"

"But Kion, look. You're out here," Ono said after landing beside him, fear evident in both his voice and gestures. "...in the Outlands,"

Kion laughed. "I can see that Ono, and it looks like I could take that trail upriver," He looked over the structures of rocks of the Outlands, stacked upon each other. "Don't worry Ono, we'll be fine. Besides, I definitely can't cross the river here. The water is way too rough,"

"Lion Guard!" he shouted over to the rest. "Meet me at Flat Ridge Rock. I can cross the river there," Then he noticed something, or more accurately the lack of something, in this case someone.

"Before I forgot to ask, have any of you seen Jasiri? I didn't hear her say anything about my mane since earlier," he said, just as Bunga was about to say something.

Fuli groaned at the mention of their currently missing member. "Ugh, that girl! She must have heard some other animal asking for help on our way for the herd,"

"Well, that's Jasiri for you," Kion chuckled, recalling his friend's antic. "Now go and find her. She'll know where Flat aridge Rock is. And Ono, I'll need your help,"

And with that they separated, all the while Ono kept himself as close as possible to his leader.

~~~

"You're in the Lion Guard, aren't you?" The elephant asked after noticing the mark on Jasiri's shoulder while she still worked on the vines.

"Of course, what do you think this mark is for? Most loyal servant of Priderock?" She turned and looked dreamily at the mark, remembering the time she received it. She didn't hear what the calf said. "What again did you say?"

"I said you left the guard to look for me, is it not? I heard Ono shouting something about oryxes," he looked down, in the sense of emotion.

"Now, don't do that. I just figured the guards could do a day without me. Besides, even Fuli and Beshte alone are enough to calm the herd," Jasiri chuckled. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Mtoto," he answered, still looking down. She then had an idea and put on a smirk on her face.

"Wanna hear how I came to the Pridelands?" He looked at her almost immediately after hearing that.

"Really?" Jasiri nodded. "How?" Mtoto said, excited. His eyes was glued to the hyena, ears only focusing on her. Jasiri thought of a word to begin her sentence. Along with that came the memories of the day it really happened.

"Well, it all started the day when some certain stupid lion decided to get lost in the Outlands while I was searching for food..."

~~~

The Outlands, the darker half of Pridelands, stood in stark contrast to the greenish scenery of the latter, being in a more barren state as if the dry season had chosen to arrive earlier than it was expected to be. Bones and remains of dead animals were scattered all over the earth, sticking and protruding through the ground. One of them, a lizard's spine to be precise, almost got stepped by Kion's paw before he slowly pulled it back. There were hundred others such as this. He faced the sky.

"How's everything Ono?" Kion asked the Keenest of Sight. He had ordered the egret to look around them to see if they could reach Flat Ridge Rock sooner. "Are we any where close to the rock?" The sun had only moved a little towards the west since they began their journey, so no such luck had come.

Ono, who alighted from above onto his leader's back, shook his head in no, not considering that his leader had the back of his head towards him. The lion turned it to look at him in the eyes, as comfortable as he could in their position.

"I'm not seeing anything, Kion. The Outlands is more of Jasiri's specialty. I would need some more time to find where it actually is,"

"And Janja?" Kion asked, another reason ordering the bird to check around.

"Negative, Kion. After you chased them off today, and taking the time since then into account, it is highly unlikely we'll be encountering them soon. Plus, we know they only really trespass the border a few times a week. It's not unreasonable to assume they might just be in their dens,"

Kion thought over Ono's word as he turned his back on the path, continuing their journey. "Keep on guard though. We can't be too careful," As if on cue, a heavy weight suddenly pushed him to ground. Above him was a growling hyena pinning him down, fangs showing.

"Kion!" Ono called for him, but wasn't able to help because of size differences. But of course, only the egret couldn't. He on the other paw was a lion, and a trained one at that.

"Back off!" He pushed. And so it began. Two animals, circling each other slowly, eyes narrowed. Ono was safely watching things from above from Kion's point of view.

"We are not here for trouble," the lion calmly reasoned.

"Yet you dare trespassing my territory!" the hyena, female, responded with an even louder growl. "State your reason for coming into the Outlands, and you may be spared," she commanded. They had stopped circling, but their eyes were still deep glaring into each other's.

Kion started first. "My name is Kion. The bird above you is Ono and you're not harming him. We're on our way to Flat Ridge Rock," The narrowing was lost from the hyena's eyes, though still retaining its vicious glare.

"Do explain,"

"My leader fell and was brought by the water current here when he was chasing Janja. He wasn't able to cross, so we had go through the Outlands," Ono landed on said lion's head. "We apologize that we have trespassed your territory, but we must move fast," The tense air soon was replaced by a more calmer one, no longer having the threatening feel to it.

"Lion Guard..." The hyena stumbled back, clearly shocked after noticing the guard's marks on the both of them.

"You know us?" Kion stepped forward carefully. He could see that the hyena was just defending her home, though he still couldn't find any smell that marked the place as her territory. Perhaps almost being drowned had made his sense go crazy.

"You're quite the celebrity 'round here... and your roar," she said with every words being closer to a silent whisper. Her head was hung low, as if intimidated by their presence.

It was not a myth the Roar of the Elders was feared by those in the Pridelands who had seen him use it. Kion never would have expected the Outsiders to know about it too. But then again, lions' head in the form of cloud roaring were really not that hard to not miss.

Kion stepped closer. "Janja deserved it for trying to disturb the Circle of Life. I know you're not of his clan, so there's no need to be afraid. Like Ono said, we're just passing through," he said, smiling. The hyena's eyes soon met his, fear forgotten, replaced by unhidden curiosity. A moment of calm silence followed.

"Do you know where Flat Ridge Rock is?" The question caught the guards off guard.

"W-well, I've only been here once, and Ono is still adjusting, so no, not at all. We're lost. Care to show us the way? Please," The lion cub grinned sheepishly. Ono too chuckled a bit. Though, the humour eventually died off as the two watched the hyena shaking silently, not uttering a single word. Her eyes were staring at the ground, while her paws clutched her stomach. "Are you alright, miss?" The question was answered with one loud, rock-shattering sound only a hyena could manage. She laughed.

"T-that's... -he funniest... -tion... -ver!" she managed to say between laughs. She was laughing so much to point on rolling on the ground. Kion was actually getting worried if she had enough air to breathe. Eventually though, the laugh ceased and she smiled the widest he had seen her have. "Come, Lion Guard. I'll show you the way!" And she sped off.

Kion and Ono shared a glance, shrugged, and followed. She was already up ahead when they heard her shout something. "My name's Madoa if wanted to ask!" They actually wanted to ask if her lungs need any treatment, but she was far too fast they could reach the rock in about a second.

~~~

"C'mon, c'mon!" Bunga excitedly walked in front of the other guard. He with what seemed to not be patience hurriedly told them to quicken their pace to the place their leader had ordered them to go to. "We don't want Kion waitin' up at Flat Ridge Rock, wondering where we are,"

The guards were currently passing through a thick grove in order to reach their destination. The oblivious honey badger however, or perhaps one who just didn't seem to care, appeared to have forgotten the exact words their leader had said right after telling them their place of meeting. Fuli decided it was the right time to ask him when they encountered a forked path; green, serious eyes into sheepish, coal ones, a reaction caused by Beshte asking if something was wrong.

"Bunga, may I remind you of how exactly Kion told us to find Flat Ridge Rock, you know, by the help of a hyena named Jasiri?" Fuli gave a sharp glare. "Do you even know where you're leading us to?" For all she knew, he was leading them to an abandoned part of the Pridelands, which of course didn't exist as far as she was concerned.

Bunga shrugged it off. "Pfft, of course I know!" Something in his high pitched voice told the cheetah it might be orherwise. "We don't need Jasiri. She's busy tending to those in need. Bunga the Bravest alone is enough to guide us there. It's..." he turned around for a bit looking lost.

"...this way!" He pointed to the left path. Fuli thought his words for over a fraction of a second and followed his lead, Beshte on her side. No use in arguing with Bunga when she knew he was not going to listen anyway.

They weren't that much further away from the entrance they took if her observation was accurate. They could if they wanted to take the time to turn back and follow a route they were more familiar with, though Bunga said that would make the journey longer. They needed to be fast, so she had to put her trust in him in this one. She just hoped she, along with Beshte, was not making a mistake in this.

It took some moment in their walk that Fuli finally realized how she was not familiar with her surrounding. It was not the normal unfamiliar, but more like never-once-saw unfamiliar. She though just pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Bunga seemed to really know where they were headed. As if to counter her argument, the honey badger without warning halted in his track.

Fuli bumped into her hippo friend, to which she had no time to apologize because Bunga cut her words. "Wait! No, no, no, no. It's this way!"

While the tiny creature had a headstart, Fuli took her place beside Beshte. "Sorry for bumping into you, Beshte," She said a little louder than she would if the others were around.

The hippo, who had been smiling all along all these time just shrugged it off his shoulder by looking at the scenery. "No harm's done, Fuli. You don't have to apologize. You know how Little B is. It's alright," They walked in perfect harmony, Fuli a little ahead because of her nature as a cheetah.

"About that," the cheetah hid her growing worries from showing in her voice, thought she wondered if Beshte could hear it. "Do you think Bunga is leading us in the right direction. I'm sure I have never been here before," She gestured to the surrounding trees and plants.

"Well, if you ask me, I would say he might just be leading us right to the rock, but on a more unused route. He's more than he acts to be. I have my trust in him," the hippo proudly told her.

"Let's just hope that trust of yours will not be the cause of ours end," Fuli lowly whispered to herself as Bunga yet again stopped suddenly, this time in front if a path covered by small trees' leaves.

The badger told his friends in sing-songy voice. "Nope! Gotta be this way!" He gestured to yet another forked path. "Well, it's one of these ways,"

Fuli and Beshte shared a look at that, but they both finally realized the one thing they feared, or at the very least Fuli did. "Too bad Kion's not here to lead us," the hippo said in a tone of all but losing the confidence in his voice from their conversation earlier. Though they needed a clarification from the honey badger, just to make sure.

"Bunga, where are we, honestly this time?" Fuli asked with her glare fixed upon the honey badger.

Bunga played a bit with the grass at his feet. "Uh... we're lost?" He showed his teeth.

The other two sighed, Fuli almost growling. "Great! Ono's with Kion, Jasiri's somewhere in the Pridelands, and we're lost in the middle of who knows where. Just great!" The cheetah lay down to handle her urges from just breaking the Circle of Life.

"Hey, what's that?" Bunga proved himself useful for once after noticing some animals moving towards them. Children actually.

Jasiri had never once in her life carried on her back anything larger than a lion cub. Even that single act caused great pain for a couple of days. Not anything Rafiki's healing herbs couldn't help though. Still, she might have did this once and could tolerate the pain better, but the huge weight difference between a lion cub and an elephant calf was never an exaggeration.

"Won't you get hurt?" Mtoto asked the obvious question as the spotted hyena placed herself right beneath the closed vines containing him.

"A lot, maybe. For a long time, nah, I don't think so," Jasiri kept her words reassuring to him, but also to herself, seeing as she might not be able to see the Pridelands' rising sun the next day anymore.

It had been sometime since she finished her story. Mtoto was content having someone to talk and ask questions to while the hyena did the work of releasing him. He seemed to regard her as 'the only friend he ever had', so he definitely wouldn't let her have him fall on her back, because that was what she was planning to do. "But I could crush you!"

Despite his not so reassuring replies, Jasiri remained true to her title by coming to the same resolution by rethinking her method. Mtoto, from her point of view, was too high above the ground. She doubted if the bush she picked was enough to soften his fall. Not to mention he was also on his back.

"Yet you won't, because miracle always happens to those with good heart," She held herself from touching him as to avoid unexpected extra weight on her body. She had cut half-through most of the vines around Mtoto's back, so they were kind of sensitive even with the smallest movement. She was sure he restrained any movement he might have wanted to do, at least until she moved away. "You are right now literally near to who Kion calls as the Kings of the past. I definitely don't want you go joining them under my care. I won't know what to say to your parents,"

After some more arguing, with Jasiri on the winning side, their voice lowered. They had scared some resident birds here quite apparently.

"Is that true?" Mtoto referred to her 'good heart' statement.

The hyena paused for a moment. "It's just something someone told me. I never thought much about it, but it sure could help well in this situation," She smiled. "Okay, big guy. I need you to dance around like you did earlier, just a little faster. Don't worry about me. Aside from being the Kindest, I'm also the fastest at healing,"

With nothing going to stop her anymore, she signalled for him to start and muttered one of her friends' most repeated catchphrase in a variation of her own. "Twende fisi..."

"Jasiri!" A weight was lifted from her before it even fell when voices from a group of three entered her ears. Fuli, Beshte, and Bunga all had the same exhausted look on their faces, plopping to the ground as soon as they catch what must be their first breath in hours. Even Fuli was exhausted to the core.

"Wow, the day Zimwi chased you or what?" Jasiri couldn't help but to input a dry joke in a serious moment like this. After all, she was in the middle of saving a Pridelander, and having herself buried underground.

"That's the hyena!" A zebra colt pointed at her. Jasiri recognized him as one of Mtoto's friends who had fled earlier. Beside him was the rest. "It's going to eat our friend!" Her ears fell for a second but she quickly raised them back before anyone could notice.

"What are you doing there, Jasiri? You're not strong enough to carry an elephant!" Beshte, as if his energy had been refilled, went to her aid below Mtoto, pushing her away.

Right on time, the branches holding Mtoto's weight broke. "Ah!" He landed safely on Beshte's back. The only thing to be considered now was the fact that he was still trapped. "What kind of vines are these?" Those words might came spontaneously, but Jasiri truly wondered if she could use them to make a bed for Rafiki.

"Are you alright, Jasiri?" Beshte came towards her and helped her up. Despite not meaning it, he had pushed her quite hard, fit for the fact that he was the Strongest. "Sorry about that,"

Jasiri shook her head as she dusted off her shoulder. "We'll talk 'bout that later. Mtoto still needs help," She gestured to the trapped calf on his back.

"Oh, right!"

Beshte kneeled down so she could lead Mtoto to the ground--well, more like making him fall. She made sure to do it in the most harmless way though. The calf left quite a hole. She then proceeded to tear off any remaining vines that were still intact.

Finally, the elephant who tried to climb a tree was again free. "I'm free! Thanks, Miss Jasiri!"

He surprised the hyena by giving her a warm hug, to which she almost immediately responded by one of her own. She was surprised at the warmth an elephant as young as him could give. The hug was shortlived however.

"Sorry for interrupting, Jasiri, but Kion is in the Outlands and we seriously need your help," Fuli approached, looking refreshed after having her breath steady once more. Jasiri had her ears perked.

While Bunga was left with the children to look after them, the rest gathered at a fair distance so they could discuss about their leader's order.

"So Kion got stuck in the Outlands and told you to meet up with him at Flat Ridge Rock?" Fuli and Beshte nodded. Jasiri felt uneasy. Kion was the leader of the Lion Guard. As such, he had more chance of being targeted, especially in a place such as the Outlands. "Ono's with him too, I suppose,"

"Yes. The only problem though is that we don't know where it is. Kion said you should know about it," The cheetah answered, looking at Jasiri in the eye.

"And he told you to find me right before he headed into the Outlands?" Fuli averted her gaze and nodded.

Beshte tried to explain. "We thought Bunga knew. Since you're busy we just assumed it would be fine,"

"...and we got lost," Fuli hung her head low before rising it and looked at her friend straight in the eye. "What were you thinking anyway separating from the guard? We have talked about this,"

Jasiri didn't answer straight away, so Beshte took the conversation. "Do you think Kion know where he's heading to? I doubt either him or Ono is familiar with the Outlands," His friendly tone betrayed the weight of the question.

"No he doesn't," The hyena shook her head, eyes now on the ground. "He has only been there when he was lost. Me and Kion used to play near Flat Ridge Rock and know our way there. But he only knows the direction from the Pridelands,"

"Ono might be able to locate it, but from where we were headed earlier, they are nowhere near Flat Ridge Rock at all," Jasiri's voice fade to a whisper.

Silence reigned between the animals before the Fastest shattered it with a soft voice unusually heard coming from her. "Jasiri, we know you hate encountering Janja and his clan, or go near the Outlands. But Kion and Ono needs our help now. We're the Lion Guard. It's our duty,"

She placed a paw on the hyena's shoulder, smiling softly. "Plus it would ruin your reputation as the Kindest. You shouldn't reject other's request," Jasiri though remained silent.

"Uh... girls?" Both of them turned to look at Beshte pointing in the direction the children. They were arguing with a poor honey badger stuck between the argument, attempting to calm down the situation to no avail.

"You all left me! I don't want friends who don't care about their other friends," It was Mtoto, still upset over the fact that none of them stood by his side the moment Jasiri appeared. "Actually, I think I'm better off friend with Miss Jasiri. At least she won't leave me like you did,"

"But Mtoto, we've been friends since we're babies. You can't just say that," The zebra colt reasoned.

"Doesn't matter, Kwato! You guys left me," The zebra turned to his other friends for help.

"Don't look at me. I'm not the first one to flee," the little baboon said.

Before Bunga, who was apparently invisible the whole time, could say anything that might or might not worsen the situation, Jasiri stepped in. She saw Mtoto smile the moment he saw her. Though that smile melted into a frown, most likely because of the look the hyena gave him. "Is something wrong?" Jasiri, putting a scolding look a mother would have when she was disappointed, stood before him.

"I won't be your friend," she said simply and calmly, but with a result of shock from the calf's reaction.

"B-but you said--You told me you would be my friend!" He shouted but was silenced with one paw softly running down his head.

Jasiri sat down to be on his level since he too didn't seem to have moved from his spot since she and the guards minus Bunga left him and his 'friends'. "I won't be your friend, until you forgive them and apologize back. They are your friends, so you're the one who'll decide, but let me tell you. Breaking your friendship is the same as leaving your friends behind," For what seemed like the tenth time that day, she smiled at the elephant calf. "So what is your choice?" Kwato was the one to voice his thought.

"Look, Mtoto. We're sorry We left you. We were afraid at the time. But I don't want to lose any friend of mine. We're like a herd. We're dependent on each other,"

The next one is the baboon. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. Shouldn't have done it. Friends stick together, right?" He offered a hand. The next one to come was the ostrich, then lastly the mongoose, both with their own reasons.

All Jasiri could read from Mtoto's face was he was touched; touched by the sincerity of his friends and their words. He hung his head. "I... I'm sorry too. We've all been together for a long time. I shouldn't have yelled at you just because you're afraid. I would have done the same too," He raised his head back. "But we're friends and friends stick together no matter what!"

Another smile reached the hyena's muzzle as she watched them went for a group hug. The Lion Guard all stood on the sidelines letting the children have their own time.

"Thanks, Miss Jasiri! We are friends right?" Mtoto gave her one last hug before leaving with the other children. Jasiri just nodded and ruffled his head.

"No matter what,"

As he joined his friends, he halted suddenly and turned to look at the guards. "You're my hero, Beshte!" he shouted then ran together with four animals who would always be by his side. "Guys, I think I've got a new idea for a game that..." his voice was lost in whispers.

"I think my respect for you has just moved up a step higher," Jasiri was approached from behind by an equally smiling Fuli. "I could have never done that,"

"Yeah, you were like an angry mother hyena who then became a sweet sounding angel in a matter of second! I hope my uncles were more like that," Bunga leaned on Beshte's side. Then he stopped midsecond, face contorting into that of disgusted. "But then again, that would be weird. I think I'm good with how they are right now,"

"Come on, Kion and Ono are waiting for us at Flat Ridge Rock." Jasiri called, chuckling. "Don't want to let them wonder where we are," Bunga climbed his hippo friend's back as fast as a honey badger could.

"Zuka Zama, that's what I told them before! Let's go now,"

Before any of them could move further, Jasiri asked a question that brought both shock and funny reaction to all their faces. "By any chance, does any of you know the way out of here?" She grinned.

"WHAT?" The guards all except the Kindest yelled, scaring the chirping birds away. Jasiri laughed her hardest.

"Oh, just kidding! I know the way out. Race ya there!" The hyena sped ahead.

"Not a chance! Huwezi!"

"Hey girls, wait for us!"

~~~

 **So? Leave your thoughts. I'm open to constructive critiscm.**


	2. Spots of Hyenas (Part 2)

**Chapter 2**

~~~

Flat Ridge Rock, as it name suggested, was a huge flat rock situated on a ridge. What differentiated it from any other similar looking rock was the fact that the ridge it was situated on was itself on the border between the Pridelands and the Outlands; a meeting of two territories on a single boundary. And apparently, it was the place the leader of the Lion Guard chose to meet with the rest of the Guards. The only problem though was the lack of presence of the leader himself.

One would have asked the most obvious question regarding the current situation, but Bunga the honey badger had a mind outside of the cave. "Wait, this is Flat Ridge Rock?" He examined the structure of it.

"Well, it's a flat rock on a ridge. What did you expect?" Jasiri saw Fuli licking the last mud off her unusually soft fur. It had got there without her noticing, but it looked like Bunga was responsible for it, judging by how the cheetah stared at him who had what she guessed as a fake look of realization.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah! I know this place. I've been here hundreds of time..."

Whatever happened between them next was lost to the hyena. She had her attention focused on the other side as she sat on the flat rock her fellow Guards had trouble finding. They had decided to rest for a bit after tiring themselves out, a suggestion from the cheetah since they had unknowingly left Beshte behind. The poor hippo was now flying in the sky with occasional snores informing just how high he went. That thought as funny as it was didn't brought any line of smile to Jasiri's muzzle.

It had been awhile since she took the time to look at her old home. Nothing seemed to have changed even for the slightest bit. The ever-dry ground continued to push living creatures away, while the shadows still became the shelter for those who sought their day away from the sun's glare. It was the same Outlands the once young cub abandoned all those moons ago, alone... How long had passed ever since she made that decision she had lost count once she gained her Lion Guard mark. A question from Fuli brought her out of her thought.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that, please?" She turned to look at the Fastest.

"I was asking if you're really fine sitting here waiting for Kion. We could go on looking for him first if you want, 'cause I don't think they're waking up anytime soon," She gestured behind her, where a hippo peacefully lay down, letting out loud sounds usually heard at night. Beside him was an equally loud honey badger, though not as tired but rather just napping.

"No, I don't think that's good idea," Jasiri looked beyond the Pridelands. "For one, there's only two of us. Your speed may come as an advantage, but without Ono or Kion leading us, we're just putting ourselves in unknown danger," Her attention went to her Lion Guard mark, before going back to her once home.

"We hyenas work best in large groups. With only the two of us, our chance of survival is quite low," she said. _Not to mention all I can remember is the way from here to my old den._

"We'll just wait, I guess," Fuli said, turning around to look at the fallen males.

"Yes..." Jasiri hoped Kion and Ono wouldn't end up getting hurt because of her decision.

~~~

Kion missed his cubhood; being in the Pridelands, enjoying the day without a care, and playing with his best friend all day long. Being the bearer of the Roar of the Elders, he was trusted with the weight of defending the Circle of Life, even if it meant being lost in the Outlands a second time. Thankfully, it was not hard to find another good hyena willing to help him and Ono back to their home.

Currently, the sky was still the colour of bright blue, and they had not yet encountered any obstacles that might slow down their pace. Ono, now back into his territory, was navigating from above for Flat Ridge Rock and any sight of trouble, fighting tiredness. The cub himself sniffed the air once in awhile in case of one, Janja's scent being the one he looked out for the most.

Despite the seriousness air brought by the guard, Madoa remained lively by offering occasional cheerful conversations, mostly being between him and herself. The topic mostly centered around their duty as the Lion Guard, the predator-prey relationship in the Pridelands, or any stuff really that involved the light-blessed land. Their conversation, to his discomfort, became more and more personal.

While Ono was high above with his business, he and Madoa passed by yet another similar looking rock, or at least to him they looked the same. Madoa didn't seem to have any trouble differentiating them. Kion held his tongue when she told him some of them were named. Living in the Outlands made having objects to talk to quite necessary, she said.

A green and yellow lizard stood in the middle of the path, with a cockroach in front of it. As they came nearer they both could see a long tongue catching the cockroach before the tiny creature was trapped inside the lizard's mouth, then straight to its stomach. The lizard, sensing their presence, looked at them before quickly scampering away. A fond memory of long ago resurfaced in Kion's head, though Madoa brought him back to his senses.

"What is the Circle of Life?" She asked curiously, as in really wanting to know.

"W-well, you know, how every animals play their own role to maintain the balance," The lion was confused as to why she would ask that but answered nonetheless. "You... don't know?" He was just guessing, but she responded by lowering her eyes to her front feet, shyly pawing one of it over the other.

"We hyenas... don't exactly have someone to show us how it really works. All I know is we basically must hunt only when necessary, never take more than our share, and be kind to our preys," Madoa looked up. "That's how it works, isn't it?" Upon looking into her eyes, Kion realized how little she knew regarding the Circle of Life.

As opposed to what Scar had done to the Pridelands while he was king, The Circle of Life kept everything in balance and harmony. All Pridelanders knew and understand how the only way for them to live in prosperity was to stand together, putting away their differences and feud. But that was in the Pridelands. Kion could barely guess whether he was going in the right direction if it wasn't for Madoa. Perhaps the way here was different, imbalance and disharmony all over which were either the direct result of Scar's reign on his people, or the source of it.

He reminded himself to ask Jasiri about this later, and how she learned about the Circle of Life. But for now, he had another plan. "Ono!" He shouted the Keenest of Sight who came down as soon as he heard himself being called.

"Yes, Kion?" The egret landed in front of his leader.

"I want you to go ahead and find Flat Ridge Rock first, in case Jasiri and the rest of the Guards are already there. Lead them here if you hear my roar. You know where to find me,"

"Affirmative, will be on my way!" The egret said and flew high in the sky, leaving the two for themselves. Madoa, as shown by her face, was confused by the interaction. Kion however just gave her a smile and walked ahead of her.

"Follow me?" He gestured with his head.

"To where?"

Kion led her a to a large clearing, looking for a group of tiny red insects. When they were watching that lizard earlier, he thought he saw a line of ants directing here. Sure enough, not far away, five of them moved smoothly on their six feet, crossing over a rock in a straight non-flawed line.

"I don't understand what you're trying to show me," Madoa's question remained unanswered as Kion again walked ahead, this time with the guide of the ants. He finally gave her answer when they reached a nest where a colony of ants reside. He gestured for her to crouch beside him, watching the colony perform their daily duty.

"See those hardworking ants there?" He whispered so as to not scare them off and risk getting bitten. She only nodded. "Those are the worker ants. They mostly search for food and protect the nest,"

Madoa inched closer to them as if she could get the answer by having a clearer view. "So..." Kion grinned at her curious filled face.

"Each and every ant inside the colony has their own role and duty. The workers outside collect food and may guard the nest as well, while the workers inside do the task of taking care of their children and making new rooms. And of course, the queen is the mom of the colony. My friend Jasiri always teases me how it's only the females that do most of the work," he whispered the last one. He got a look on her face and realized he was straying from the real point. "Anyway, all of them carry the responsibility of taking care of the colony. Even if one choose to not to, it leaves an impact to the whole colony,"

Kion closed his eyes before opening it again and sat with his head facing the sky. "When a predator, like me, finishes its part, its body becomes the soil. From it, plants and lives spring. Once the time comes, they too shall carry the responsibility of providing the food a prey needs to survive..."

"And in turn, the predators owe them for the meat offered by the preys," Madoa finished, understanding in her voice.

"And the cycle repeats," Kion returned to the hyena and offered a paw to help her up. "Everyone, big and small, holds a key to keeping the balance in check. Lose one, it will crumble to dust,"

Kion and Madoa continued their journey to Flat Ridge Rock in silence as the clouds passed over in the sky. It finally came to an end when the hyena showed him the way to the mentioned place, in an environment warning him of unwanted dangers.

"This is Janja's territory. I've stepped further than I should. This is where we part,"

"Asante, Madoa, for your help," As Kion climbed a large boulder to his destination, he felt the need to turn back for a few more words. "The Pridelands still has quite the numbers of untouched grass, you know," Madoa's reply to that was, disappointingly, only a shake of the head.

"One is the offer's limit, no more," Though confused, Kion smiled anyway and gave a farewell, before going in direction of his home. A couple of steps away however, a distressed voice came upon him.

"L-look, Janja! I promise I'll stay off your turf. Y-you can even come to mine if you ever need food,"

"Madoa?" Kion turned his path.

When he thought he would not see nor hear Janja again, it was official he needed to make sure to get rid of the water still inside his head. That troublesome hyena and his clan were cornering Madoa. Kion decided it would be best he intervene before his new friend got hurt. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that, what with trying to find that traitor sister of your and all," The comment from Janja made him stop short. _A traitor hyena?_

Kion watched Madoa fix her stance. "Jasiri is not a traitor!" If he was surprised before, he was more so now with a hint of hidden betrayal. "And please, I promise you won't see me here ever again,"

Kion watched intently the scene before him, particularly Madoa. "Jasiri has a sister?" he whispered. He had to shake the thought off his head for now to focus on the more important matter at paw. Cheezi was the first one to attack Madoa.

"Not so fast!" Kion managed to headbutt him away in time. A quivering Madoa looked up from the paws covering her eyes in surprise.

"Kion?" A glance to the sides quickly made her to choose the lion's back as a better place."I thought you already left!" The fear and gratefulness in her voice made him translate that as a 'thank you'.

He grinned and eyed around. "Not when Janja's around, sadly," A few of said hyena's clan were sent flying to the ground. He turned to look at her still trembling figure. "Can you fight?" Kion recalled the aggressive female hyena he met earlier.

"Prefer not to," She barely managed to defend herself from a sneak attack, which Kion easily brought down by headbutting, resulting in a slight daze and spinning of his eyes. He recovered quickly though. "But I could try,"

"Lure them to me," With that said, Madoa left Kion to fend for himself. Cheezi was coming towards him, followed by Chungu. He only had to duck and the two lay limp after hitting the wall. Kion continued with the others.

Madoa did a great job at being a bait, although that might be due to the fact the other hyenas were dumb to begin with. A kick from one of them brought made him kiss the earth. He reminded himself not to silently insult them behind them lest he got into misfortune again.

Once Madoa had her followers right before him, he gave them each a punch good enough to immobilize them for quite a while. Despite doing pretty well, Kion and Madoa found themselves outnumbered in the end. More and more of Janja's clan spawn into existence until the only escape they had was the sky. Janja came forward.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Kion. Thought I wouldn't see ya again so soon. It is very kind of you to protect a hyena, more so that lives in the Outlands," He gave a sinister grin as he stepped further, flanked by his clan, fangs bared. "Oh, don't worry, it won't hurt... I think," Kion readied himself before Janja lunged.

~~~

Jasiri heard the sound of wings flapping and squinted her eyes to see a white bird over the distance, shouting whispers. "Guys, it's Ono!" As soon as the guard heard that, they jumped to their feet with the exception of Bunga who did a back-flip first.

"Don't worry, Ono, we've got your back!" It was apparent napping had left an effect on the honey badger. No one minded.

The Keenest of Sight was letting the wind lift his body. He looked relieved, but he was alone, no lion seen below nor over. Worries crept over Jasiri as thousand probabilities of bad things showed up in her head one by one.

"Everyone! Finally, I made it," Ono heaved a sigh while he landed on Beshte's back with slight trouble, before plopping and having his whole front side lying on it. He didn't care all the others were worried sick at the lack of sight of their leader.

Fuli beat Jasiri to the question that was on the head of most of them. "Where's Kion, Ono? Wasn't he with you?"

Ono replied in a loud voice, albeit muffled to the point nobody could comprehend what was being said. "He...ahead. Said he...alk...hyena...Mawowa," Whatever he said after that was no longer in the realm of comprehensibility. Fuli understood it perfectly though.

"Oh, how I admire your loyalty..." Jasiri saw her roll her eyes which was followed by an almost silent snore, which not in the least calmed her growing anxiousness.

In the tense moment of fears and worries, a feeling of unease washed over the hyena as she put a paw over her suddenly tightening chest. Up above, clouds began taking the form of lions head, glaring below them, their angry eyes boring deep into hers. Knowing full well what it meant, Jasiri made her the decision. "Ono, take us to Kion!" she made her tone as demanding as possible.

The egret, hearing her command, immediately came to his sense and started flapping his wings before he was back in the sky. He too had looked at the lining lion heads in the sky.

"Let's go!" Fuli picked Bunga onto her back.

"This way!" The guard followed the egret's lead even if they already had one in the sky.

Soon, the clouds had their jaws opened, readying to roar like Jasiri had seen King Simba often did, while at the same time the tightening in her chest spread over her whole body. Her feet felt soft and weak, her tail lost to her sense. The ground beneath was as if those clouds themselves had covered it with their impossibly fluffy being. Soon, her eyes darted all over the places. With her head spinning, she didn't even notice one of her feet had slipped until she hit the ground. She thought someone called her name.

Right as some unknown lion roared, all of her senses were gone.

~~~

Jasiri saw a hand of a mandrill offering half a fruit's shell acting as a bowl containing water. Another hand pulled her head towards it. She felt her lips touching the bowl, then a cooling sensation ran through her throat, giving the world around her a clearer view. She felt much better. "Asante, Rafiki," she weakly attempted to at least move her paw.

The old guy moved his finger left and right in front of her nose. "It is not I you should be thanking. The sun has already set. You might as well continue your rest," he gave her another bowl which she gladly finished in one gulp.

She thanked him once more and let the night air of the Pridelands clear her mind. She was in Rafiki's tree, with him tending to her. It was apparent she had fainted yet again, and someone took the burden of carrying her back here, as it was also her home. She remembered bits of her memories coming to her before blacking out. "Is Kion alright? I heard his roar,"

"And I see the toll it has taken on you," He gave her a knowing look as he rearranged his herbs and fruits. He drew a smile and let out his distinct laugh she had come to know once he placed them in the place of his liking.

Jasiri's ears flattened. "Did you tell him?"

"The little prince was worried, but I promised him you would be running back and forth to the lair by tomorrow. He and the other guards wish you a good night sleep,"

Jasiri felt a wave of relieve passing through her as she heard his words. "Does that mean I can continue my guard duty as usual?" She tried to move her left foot, but was disappointed to find out she had fallen quite hard she couldn't quite lift it. Her ankle too was sprained, most probably from the fall too.

"No, but knowing you, that wouldn't make any difference. As of which, I think it's time we talk about your condition," He finally came to sit beside the smaller hyena. "Or perhaps you desire a talk in another time?"

Jasiri looked the other way, but eventually gave up. She lay her head fully on the tree's warm wood floor, not focusing her eyes in any particular direction. She spoke slowly. "Why does every time Kion roars I lose my consciousness? It's like he's doing it on purpose. Every time I look up, I saw their eyes, the lions', staring right through me, like I did something wrong," She never felt her watering eye until something, or rather someone, hit her in the head. She glared at Rafiki, which didn't constitute for one at all if words of her friends could be trusted. "What was that for?"

Rafiki feigned ignorance, munching on a fruit that magically appeared out of thin air. "Not my fault the Lion Guard is usually seen with only five members," he continued grinding his teeth against his midnight snack, producing a sound uncomfortable for the ears.

Jasiri hung her head, somewhat guilty. "I guess it is my fault leaving them in the middle of an emergency, or any other time. But still, there has to be something more! I mean, I fainted the first time Kion summoned the Roar, before I even got my mark!" She then realized there was a painting of two cubs she often stopped by to look closely. It was of her and Kion, directly painted in front of where she and Rafiki were now. She turned to said mandrill. "You know something about it, right?" Even with her best pleading eyes he still seemed to be none the wiser. Him sticking a finger in his ear then pulling a tiny bug already dead for who knew how long proved that.

Rafiki surprised her for a bit by standing abruptly. He walked to the painting, his staff hitting the floor a few times. Jasiri watched him as he placed his hand below it.

"My knowledge is limited to what I've seen and been told so far. Yours is a recent one, never ever heard in the history of Pridelands since the first settlers were chosen as its rulers," He fell into one of his thinking pose beside the painting. Jasiri, finally strong enough to move her feet albeit not much, walked to him, step by step, making sure to keep her sprained paw close to her upper body. She lay beside him with her head on his lap.

Her eyes went to his. "Found anything yet?" She smiled hopefully, before it turned into a frown once she realized his eyes were closing, along with a snore that blew some parts of her mane. She put on a tired smile and wished good night for him. As slow and silent as she could, not that she could move faster or make any sound in her current condition, she moved from Rafiki's side to her sleeping spot, where the moon and stars above lit her night. Her last thought before embracing her sleepiness was that of the painting, somehow shifting into life; her and her friend's little selves being watched from above by a pair of watchful eyes of a mysterious lion that was never there before.

Jasiri was greeted by the sight of an overly bright smile of her best friend by the time she was awake. The Guards, Kion particularly, was pretty insistent on her not overdoing things such as attempting to get herself crushed by an elephant, so she wouldn't suddenly fall unconscious during her duty.

Words got out someone had been spreading false--Kind of--news that the Kindest was out all over the Pridelands trying to help the pridelanders with their problems. She initially looked in Rafiki's direction, but it was Fuli who approached her.

"It's the best excuse I could give. I thought he had breathing difficulties when he saw you lying stiff like that," she said. Although reluctant, Jasiri found the solution to be the best. After all, she wasn't really keen on having her best friend discover her secret yet. Before she got to ask, the Fastest already had her paw raised. "And no, he doesn't suspect a thing. Or at least I think so. Kion's been pretty quiet since we decided to check on you," The two girls turned their attention to the lion cub who immediately looked away once he got caught staring at them.

"Heya, Jasiri! Wanna play a round of Baobab before going for patrol?" Bunga took out a Baobab fruit and tossed it at her. It didn't quite reach the target and almost hit Rafiki had the mandrill not paid attention and deflect its course using his staff. Or perhaps he just happened to put it there right on time while focusing on another painting of his.

"Bunga, Jasiri's still not recovered from yesterday! You can't just throw a Baobab at her,"

Jasiri gave Kion a questioning but playful look. "And how could you be sure of that? I'm sure this is my body I'm living in,"

"Yeah, she looks pretty fine to me!"

"You just can't, alright!" He let out a sudden growl, though realized soon after and rephrased his words. He sighed. "Just to make sure you heal up nicely. Not even you could just magically recover in just a night sleep," He hung his head.

The exasperation in his voice and gestures from earlier didn't go unnoticed by Jasiri. Slowly, she straightened her legs, all of them, and fixed her wiggly stance. Slowly and firmly, she walked towards the lion who already had his back facing her. She stopped just beside him.

"Janja again, or your sister?" The only times he was ever like this were when those two were involved. There were others, but Janja and Kiara had the most impact.

Kion sighed. "It's not about Janja. Well, maybe a little. You're right about the sister part, though," Jasiri tilted her head, wondering since when that troublesome hyena had a secret sibling. She righted her position when he turned to face her. "Sorry about before. You too, Bunga!" He told the honey badger behind them.

"Pfft, we're friends. We're cool, alright!"

Jasiri thought of what could cheer him up tjen smiled. "A girl can take care of herself, you know? I thought your father taught you that," she said, to which he, as expected, responded with a smile of his own followed by a smirk.

"Oh, he did, didn't he?" They both laughed two the point they forgot about the presence of the others. "Oh sorry, guys. Patrol, right?"

"Definitely," Fuli deadpanned. Bunga had already went outside to play some Baobab with Beshte and Ono. Beshte couldn't enter so Ono volunteered to keep him company. Soon, she too followed. "I swear sometimes Jasiri is more related to you than Kiara ever is,"

Before they fully exited Rafiki's tree, Kion asked Jasiri one last time. "Is your head, okay? I dropped you a few time on the way here--Not on purpose! Bunga kept distracting me," he had his eyes white at the thought of his words getting misunderstood.

Jasiri ignored the desire to tease him in favour of answering. "Now that you mention it, yeah, I do feel a little bit dizzy," she rubbed her paw on the side of her head to ease the spinning.

"Sorry about that. Maybe after patrol we'll just work on coordination. No need to push ourselves so much. I could use some light exercise these times of days," Jasiri could not help but to notice a slight frown once he turned away from her. She thought to not press him about the matter for now, at least until he decided to tell her himself.

Outside, the others were waiting for them. At seeing her, Beshte grinned and greeted her. "How are you, Jasiri? Sorry I couldn't carry you yesterday. I was in pretty bad shape, running without stop like that and Kion insisted to take you here,"

She smiled back. "Oh, I can run all over the Pridelands!" At the look Kion was giving her, she chuckled. "But I think I'll just go patrolling with the rest of you for the day,"

"And your sprained ankle?" Ono descended onto the hippo's back, clearly curious of the condition of her foot. He must have noticed when she was unconscious back then.

Jasiri just raised and bent it around freely to her will. "See? all nice and healed up!"

"That's fast," he said, surprised. Jasiri shrugged.

"Anyway, since we're already behind our schedule"--Kion slightly raised his voice--"I think now is as good as any time to begin our patrol,"

Fuli cheered. "Finally!"

With all in agreement, they began moving to their fixed destinations, starting with the Watering Hole. They all needed refreshment to be on the best of their condition. Usually, it was always Kion who began their phrase. Right as they were about to move however, Jasiri jumped ahead, startling the lion.

"Till the Pridelands end-"

"Jasiri!" he sprinted towards her.

"-Lion Guard defends!" The other soon followed, all with humour written on their faces.

~~~

 **And... that's it. Leave a review. I won't judge(maybe).**

 **About the scene with Rafiki's tree, I'm still not sure whether it is physically possible for hyenas(and lions) to climb a tree that big. So, for the sake of not having plot holes, let's just assume there's a normal entrance, if there never was, where animals like Jasiri can go through.**

 **To Gracekim1:** _I am not new to the Lion Guard and Lion King fandom. In fact, this story is actually one that I already published on Wattpad. But thank you for the welcome anyway. About the flashbacks, I'll see if I can put them in the middle of some chapters. I'm actually in the middle of a project, which is inspired by this work of mine. That project is a series of stories about how Jasiri gets into the Pridelands, then what happens after. Maybe I could use some from them, as this story is kind of a base for it(which is not saying much, really)._


	3. Bunga the Wise (Part 1)

**Sorry for the long wait. But since it's here now, enjoy!** ~~~

 _"Oh look, look! I think it's a vulture,"_

 _"Vulture? Looks more like Zazu than anything in my opinion,"_

 _"Hm, you're right,"_

 _"What else do you see?"_

 _Jasiri turned from Kion to the sky above, looking anything that looked akin to something. A few moments in looking, she realized they had named all the possible shapes the twinkling stars could take. She turned again to her best friend beside her, smirking._

 _"A whiny, sensitive, mommy's boy lion cub," She chuckled in her childish voice. "Who's also the one who risked his life to save me. Asante. For everything," She gave a smile that he responded with a grin of his own. It did not take long before they started stargazing again._

 _Kion tried counting the stars by pointing his paw to each of them, starting from the far left. "So, found a new den yet?" He gave up on counting since he kept forgetting._

 _"No. Every place I went to just doesn't feel... right,"_

 _"You can always stay here in the Priderock. It's where you've been staying at anyway since you got here,"_

 _"I don't want to trouble your parents,"_

 _"You make it sound like they don't like you here. I mean, we're both cubs. Dad may look like he doesn't care at all, but he's worried about you. You did just almost break your back after all,"_

 _Jasiri just laughed. "So, how has it been with your father? Dad now, I suppose,"_

 _"You can't change the subject, Jasiri. I know you. That won't work anymore,"_

 _"Are you really that shy cub I met in the Outlands?" she turned to see Kion looking straight into her eyes. She chuckled a little before it died down. Soon, only wind accompanied the silence. "It's just... Your family has done so much for me. You brought me here, healed me, then made me a Pridelander. I'm grateful. I think you've done enough for me,"_

 _"Well, that's udugu. Mom told me that earlier. Though she won't tell me what it means..."_

 _"Thank you, Kion. I'm sure I can look after myself. I need a place to be alone. All that happened these past days, they're just a lot to take in,"_

 _"If you say so," They both looked at the sky just in time to see a shooting star. "I just hope mom won't ground me for sneaking out like this,"_

 _"Well, hoping won't get you anywhere. I'll back you up,"_

 _"Thanks!"_

 _Up above, a lone star twinkled brighter than the rest._

~~~

Raindrops falling on her muzzle. Jasiri always found it hard for herself to contain her enjoyment at even the sight of them, more so having herself directly under the grey sky once it began to rain. Her fur soaked wet all over, yet she would still find pleasure in having the drops of water touching and sliding down her body. She would hop around in the slopes and fall once in a while, smiling all along. It was a time of peace when she could set aside all her worries; a time to truly be herself.

A time like that was a one time chance amongst thousand however.

Like all natural weathers, rainstorm made part of the Circle of Life. Like them also, it was mostly unwelcomed by the residents of the Pridelands due to its disastrous nature. On the aftermath of each one, the Lion Guard could just forget their desire to laze around in the lair relaxing so they could help those in need of them. Currently, none of the guard had had their fair share of rest, so they were quite on the edge at the moment, literally and figuratively.

As was known of rainstorm, it always brought strong winds along, one that had the potential to pull any tree unfortunate enough to be in its path out of the ground. One of the trees was one that belonged to a baboon troop. It was dangerously leaning closer to the cliff. With the baboons still holding on to it and making movement they shouldn't, the tree only had so much time before it would finally lose to their weight and fall.

"Please, You have to come down! The tree can't hold it much longer," Jasiri shouted, only for it to fall on deaf ear like all her previous attempt. A young baboon in particular had the most of her attention. Up above the tree, he clung tightly to his mother. "Gumba!" Jasiri tried calling again but failed.

By now, the presence of thunders cracking at every second was nothing more than the creaking of crickets at night. If anything, they were the indicator of the time they still had to rescue the baboons.

"Baboons!" Kion's loud voice rang in one of her eardrum. He, like the rest of the guard, was drenched in the freezing water. She ignored the shivering she felt every time a breeze blew by. Her attention was primarily on the baboons. As she did, they too ignored the lion's call for them.

Compared to their usual and less risky rescuing, this one might really end with any, if not most, of them getting hurt. It was for a reason that was the case for this one.

The troop's leader clung to the tree with his life depending on it. "We're dry up here!" he either told the guard that they were fine or was assuring himself that they indeed were. "We'll come down when the rain stops!"

"These guy's unbungalievable!"

For the first time in many moons, Bunga and Fuli agreed on the same thing. "Oh, baboons!"

Time was getting shorter. It was clear that the tree could not keep holding itself against the baboons' constant movements. The one keeping it in its place, Beshte, was not faring well also. "Kion, the tree's gonna go! And I don't wanna go with it," Fear was evident in the hippo's voice. He groaned, fighting against the tree's weight.

A thunder flashed before Jasiri's eyes. Her head felt light for a moment. She lost her footing, but was quick enough to prevent herself from falling. Upon opening her eyes and shifting her gaze, she saw Kion giving her a worried look. She only responded by shaking her head, then returned to the tree.

Beshte once again pushed against it. Two of its remaining roots, the ones aiding the hippo even after being forced out of the ground, broke off. With all the burden on him, he could only groan as the baboons continued to double his effort. They moved further towards the part that went past the cliff, slightly crushing him.

A pair of baboons held each other in a hug, trembling. "Calm down!" the leader turned to them.

"As long as we stay dry"--he made some sound--"We'll be fine,"

Ono flew in front of him. "No it won't! Your tree's about to fall off a cliff!" Hearing that, Gumba's mother quickly jumped onto the leader's head, further adding to the weight. The little baboon hung on her back tightly.

"He's right! Look," she pointed. The leader only responded with a squint, looking below. The giant log let out a creak, convincing her to move further towards the cliff.

"No, stay on this side of the tree!" Kion shouted through the rainstorm. Ono flew a safe distance to watch from above.

"Can't... much..."

Jasiri's world spun and shifted. Her vision was blurry, and everything she heard became distorted. Her feet staggered. It was when Kion shouted that she regained her senses.

"Beshte, think you can handle a little more weight?" Her dizziness became her least concern once Jasiri realized the full meaning of her leader's words.

"Sure! But whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!"

"Bunga, climb up there and scare those baboons down!"

"With pleasure," Bunga readily followed his order. Jasiri didn't wait to stop him.

"No, Bunga, you're-" Her world shifted into an unknown yet familiar surrounding.

 _Her body had never felt so heavy in her life. Had she been able to move, she would push her feet and seek for shelter against the rain. Walls and walls of cold water shielded her sight, yet more punctured into her from above. She could only lay still drenched in rain water from the sky and the one flowing beneath her belly. It was slow and painful, but every drop of water seeping into her wounds and cuts left a lasting sting, a feeling that would have made her cry for help. But she didn't make a sound. Only the loud growls and white flashes, and a blurry figure she saw in front of..._

The world spun once again as Jasiri broke out of her sudden daze. The ground as always became her lying spot for whenever she fell. She moaned. "I feel like throwing up," She covered her mouth, feeling sick.

She heard Fuli expressing her displeasure from behind, whatever the reason. "You can come down now!"

"We'll come down--whoo whoo--when the rain stops!"

She groaned. "Baboons,"

Jasiri took a deep breath to clear her mind. Her forelegs gave her little trouble, so slowly, she rose into a sitting position, taking in her surrounding.

Beshte was relaxing himself, Bunga with him, chatting. On the side, Gumba was hugging his mother. Fuli and Ono both had matters if their own. Everyone was safe. The tree too had finished its part in the Circle of Life, nowhere to be seen anymore.

A few drop of water falling on her muzzle made her look up. Though she had always been fond of them, a thought, of the more undesired outcome had something went wrong, stopped her from drawing any line of smile or letting out her usual cheery laugh. The image of her hippo and honey badger friends, along with one little baboon, lying unconscious beside the fallen tree would take some time to be removed from her mind.

One particular lion walked directly into her sight. His face was full of nothing but unneeded concern completely directed at her. Once her eyes connected with his, an unfamiliar feeling welled deep inside her. It felt like anger, but was more toned down. Upset, perhaps. It might be of that feeling, but whatever it was, Jasiri couldn't find in herself to look away. For the first time she could remember, she glared at her leader.

~~~

Kion heaved a relieved sigh. The rainstorm had finally stopped. The guards didn't object his order to rest for a while after their hard work. After all, there was bound to be another rainstorm on the way. Taking a short break wouldn't hurt anybody.

While the rest enjoyed their nap, Kion went somewhere else by himself to settle a matter.

Usually after any rainstorm, animals all appeared to always need the guards' help, one way or another. He gladly helped anyone who seriously needed the guards' help. With the ones just making his work hard for him though, he felt like clawing at some close tree nearby. It was all Jasiri's effort to remind him that trees were part of the Circle of Life too, and that they were not there for letting out his emotion. Thinking about Jasiri slowed down his steps until he was barely moving at all.

His eyes absentmindedly went to the gray clouds above, aimlessly looking at each passing one, before slowly going down to the grass beneath his feet. "Sisi ni sawa, isn't it?" he said in a dejected tone that never belonged to him. In his half-aware state, the next step he took ended up in his paw getting soaked in a puddle, a souvenir from the last rainstorm. "Huh? Must have been the seventh one since I left the guard,"

He took his step back, now fully conscious of the bigger surrounding. One of the thing he noticed was the struggle an animal would face just to be set free to fly, and he wasn't talking about Kiara.

Not far from him, a butterfly was caught in one puddle amongst many other. Kion made his way towards the poor creature and lifted it carefully to his face. It circled happily around him. He smiled in response.

"There you go little guy," It wanted to stick around longer, though, and landed on his muzzle, making him chuckle. "You're welcome," When the butterfly finally flew away, he moved to another matter that didn't fail to catch his attention, namely another souvenir from the rainstorm.

On his side, he could see trees pulled out of their home, all lying around and abandoned. Some even had their trunks split into two. It was a sight he had never paid any attention to before being appointed as the Fiercest. Now that he was part of the Lion Guard, he knew it was not a pretty sight.

"Hevi Kabisa. Storm's caused so much destruction," Up above, clouds gathered into one big wall of grey, blocking further view of the sky. Kion went up onto the highest boulder in the area and looked past the clouds. "Grandfather?" Bright light broke through them along with the wind slightly changing its course. An adult lion's face appeared.

"Yes, Kion. I'm here," the once king Mufasa greeted him, smiling down at him.

Kion stepped forward and gathered his thought. "I was thinking. The rains cause so many problems for the Pridelands. What if I use the roar, to blow the big rainstorms away?" He beamed, not expecting the laugh coming from his grandfather.

"The rains are part of the Circle of Life, Kion. The Pridelands will need that water for the dry season," his grandfather pointed to him the obvious flaw in his plan, a flaw that he had forgotten due to him not thinking it through.

"I guess," the lion cub swiped at the boulder he was on, defeated. "But it'd be a lot easier-"

"Kion, the easy solution is not always the best solution,"

Kion was reminded of the baboons' rescue earlier, where there could be a lot of consequences had his premature plan failed. "Yes, grandfather," He was about to leave when something occured to him. "Um... grandfather Mufasa?" he called before the lion had the chance to disappear.

"Yes, Kion?"

"I-" Something held him back from saying what he intended to. Looking at the lion expecting his reply, and considering the time he had spent away from the guards, Kion made the decision to continue the conversation for another day. "Never mind. I can always find you right?"

His grandfather nodded. "I am always here whenever you need me," With his voice fading, he faded as well, leaving the clouds dominating the sky once again. Kion sighed.

His paw absentmindedly went to his chest, watching the clouds separate and leave one by one. In loud, clear, definitely audible female voice, a yelling pulled him out of his daze, prompting him to look for the source. Kion sighed again, exasperation at the tip of his breath. He weighed down his options but found no reasonable excuse--a mature excuse at least--to not intervene.

"Well, might as well see what's wrong," he walked towards two very familiar arguing baboons.

~~~

Jasiri shifted, rolled, anything, so the grass beneath her become more comfortable and not as rough as it was. It seemed even her body hated her. Every time she lay still it shouted to her to just move. Sighing, Jasiri stood from her position, no longer feeling exhausted as before. It was a lie to herself of course, but moving like a stick shoved around in no particular direction wouldn't do any good to her already sore body. Kion was serious when he joked they wouldn't get any rest, at least until now.

The rest of the Lion Guard took liberty of their leader's words, wherever he was, and for the lack of better term slept like cubs under their mother's hold. She restrained the urge to pinch their cheek by giggling. A good natured giggle of course.

Fuli for one didn't force a smile to her face. It naturally came by itself, making her look all the more her inner self. The same could be said for the others. They all held the same kind look she had seen times and times again. Before 'Day of the Lion Guard', she would have doubted it, that a group of animals would accept her as part of them, more so swear to be her friends. That one line of thought almost made her tear. Almost.

"Asante..." Jasiri had made sure to 'whisper' her voice as low and quiet as possible. She clearly didn't when Ono blinked his eyes, waking up right after. "Oh hey, Ono. Good dream?" she pressed a paw to her muzzle and gestured to the others who were still sleeping. He looked at them first before flying to her side.

"Kion still didn't return?"

Jasiri shook her head. "It hasn't been that long yet. Sorry if I woke you up,"

"Nah it's fine. I'm not that tired," The irony of his claim didn't escape Jasiri when a yawn escaped him. A long one. "Okay, I may be a little tired, but that's okay. I needed to talk to you anyway," Jasiri's ears perked at that.

"What about? You never really wanted to just 'talk' to me before,"

"I always talk to you, Jasiri. In fact, I still recall the first time we did. But let's not stray off the point," Ono flapped his wings a little so he be directly facing her. "This may sound like I'm poking my beak into other's business,"

"Yet you'll ask anyway,"

"Hmm... True that. Anyway, all the evidences I found point me to only one conclusion,"

"And that is..."

"You're sick right, Jasiri?"

Said hyena stared at his silently shaking figure, despite his faked calm demeanor. "Come again," Jasiri made sure to really soften her voice this time so as not to scare him.

"W-well, all the hiding, your reluctance to work with the guards before yesterday, you staying with Rafiki, all that. You're trying to find the cure to your sickness. At the same time, you couldn't bear to face us. Am I wrong? You're afraid we would find out and worry about you," By the end of that sentence, only half of Ono's face was visible to her as he kept turning it, nervousness shaping his very gestures.

That look of nervousness was reflected in Jasiri in the form of nervous glance, not knowing how exactly to reply. Thankfully, or rather unfortunately, both of them were distracted by the sound of rushing water. They turned in time to see a wave of the cold monster coming for them. 'Hevi kabisa' was what Kion would have said if he were here, but neither of them was up to being him, so they opted for an alternative instead. They gasped.

"Guys, guys! Wake up!" Ono flew over to the others. Jasiri bounded after him, noticing how Fuli barely acknowledging him, unlike Beshte.

"What's the kerbubble, Ono?"

Jasiri claimed the honour of answering. "Only cold water trying to kill us," She figured the hippo's figure was huge enough to function as a shield. She settled by him just in time when the wave hit. She looked over her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind, Beshte,"

"No biggie, Jasiri," he flapped his ears.

There was a series of coughing, followed by a half soaked Fuli walking her way to them, shivering. Jasiri was sure she heard Ono stifling a laugh, but didn't bother. Jasiri offered her paws and pulled the cheetah close, almost cooing at touching her soft fur. With Bunga joining them afterwards, their collected body heat was enough to protect them from the cold, Beshte being the biggest source.

Fuli was conscious enough to voice everyone's thought. "There's never been a river here before. What's happening?"

Like her, she and the rest were puzzled, frustrated too, as to why they had to endure one more session exposed to the now-undoubtedly their sworn enemy. What the guards did to irk it, Jasiri couldn't recall, because she didn't think it was frowned upon asking for longer non-wet time. Since grumbling promised only more grumbling and making herself look cubbish--not that she minded--she made use of her mind instead to solve their current problem.

"I'll take a guess and say it's the last rainstorm's doing," Jasiri fought from shivering, but she did sneeze. She rubbed her nose a little, pointing at Fuli with the use of another paw. "You're in charge,"

The cheetah rolled her eyes. "Alright. Ono, see where's the water coming from. Look for Kion too while you're on it, will you,"

"Affirmative!" The egret took off. Whatever he saw up there, it wasn't good news. Ono's voice was clear in the air, so was the panicky feel to it. "Lake Kiziwa! It's too full, the water's pouring out,"

Jasiri's hearing confirmed his words. The rushing sound got louder, which she guessed why her paw pads were wet now. The water current had quickened, bringing along more water to be licked and wiggled out of her fur once all this was over. _If it ever ends, that is._

"It's getting worse, Fuli!" Ono's panicked voice rose ever-so slightly.

By now, Bunga and the cheetah had taken the higher ground by Beshte's back, the latter due to her resentment towards water. Jasiri was left standing beside Beshte below, finding no use in mimicking her two friends. As she began getting comfortable having the cold substance moving about beneath her paws, she spotted a grazing group of oryxes just below. Fuli with her wider range of view atop Beshte saw them as well.

Jasiri turned to face the rest. "Any idea how to stop the water before it floods the whole place?"

To her and everyone else's surprise, one very confident honey badger answered that. "I've got one," Jasiri was sure he would be too distracted to even notice their stare on him had he been facing them.

Bunga's plan was simple; push a giant boulder so that it fall to block any further water from flowing, of which she, Fuli, and Beshte was chosen to do. Executing the plan the other paw, not so much.

 _Come on, move!_ Jasiri begged as she forced her body and head against the boulder. It wouldn't do so much of a budge and stayed like that, as if humiliating the combined effort of hers and her friends.

She hoped the Strongest wasn't at his limit. His groan was the only indication he was there aside from his scent, since Jasiri found comfort in just closing her eye. She anticipated the moment other smaller boulders atop the one they were pushing now crushing them, not questioning how the structure even came to be.

"Push, Beshte! We've gotta block it up," Bunga shouted from below. Ono had gone to look for Kion, leaving the honey badger, somehow, in charge. Fuli so far hadn't voiced her opinion, but her effort did seem to carry an air of exasperation, more than before. Beshte decided to end all this.

"Twende Kiboko!"

That was the magic word. In about three breaths, the structure lost its balance, tumbling down and blocked the water flow. They had succeeded.

"Huf!" Jasiri allowed finally herself and her muscles to relax. She saw a tired Beshte beside her flashing a grin. She would have responded with one hadn't she noticed it wasn't her it was aimed at. Her eyes went to Fuli, who was admiring their work.

"Nice!" she commented, beginning to walk her way down.

Jasiri wondered where all that cheetah's energy was coming from. Even watching her speeding on her feet to reach the ground made her own feet wobble.

"You alright, Jasiri?" Beshte followed her slow pace from behind.

Jasiri nodded tiredly. "I missed my daily naps two days in a row, hadn't had morning meal, yet still able to throw a stack of boulders onto the earth. Taking all that into account, I think I'm perfectly alright," She momentarily forgot to add that she hadn't been following her napping routine for quite some time.

The two of them reached Fuli standing in a close tree's shade, joining her watching a zebra and a giraffe engaging in a conversation with Bunga. She immediately recognized the zebra as the leader of his herd who she once saw talking with King Simba. They were, as it seemed, praising him. Jasiri couldn't hold her mirth and covered her laugh by coughing at the scene.

"And you know what made this a great idea? It was so simple to do! Quick and easy. That's the way to do it," Bunga was proud to announce his philosophy.

As amusing as it was to watch, Jasiri decided they couldn't waste much more time than they already did. Kion and Ono were still nowhere to be seen, and a lot of animals were probably in need of their help right now. Taking into account the earlier flood, another kind of problems, hopefully less serious, probably had taken place already, waiting to be solved.

Jasiri regarded her two friends, having rid of her laugh. "I'll tell him," She walked toward the honey badger, which in turn brought her toward the pair of animals. She bowed to them, a courtesy instilled into her from shared cubhood with Kion, a _prince_. "It is an honour to see you in person, my lord, sir,"

The two tensed, Jasiri noticed.

"I-it's an honour to meet you as well," Both the zebra and the girrafe bowed as well after a short period of silence. She pretended not to notice their reluctance to do so.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," She raised her head. "but the Lion Guard needs to be moving. We're currently missing two of our members. Remember, Bunga?" she adressed said honey badger beside her.

"Oh, yeah... Sorry. I forgot about Kion. And Ono too." He sheepishly grinned.

They were interrupted by a small rock falling off from the new-made wall, where two tiny river of the dam water flowed freely.

Their expression, especially the wary ones from the zebra and the giraffe, turned into one of horror. For Jasiri and Bunga, they remained calm, having gone through this kind of things on a daily basis.

"Oh no, we're gonna drown! Panic and run, panic and run," The zebra was halfway through his gallop but was stopped by Bunga.

"Hey, no sweat! I've got this," he said, looking for anything to solve the leak. He got his answer in the form of a stick. "We just put a stick in it! That's my advice," It seemed to work too.

"Hey, it works! What a good idea," the zebra said with a relieved and amazed smile, followed by the giraffe.

"He gives great advice,"

It was by then Fuli thought to interrupt. "Good idea? Great advice? You know you're talking about Bunga, right?"

"Don't be so surprised!" a gentle, old voice said. Jasiri turned her head toward the tree where the familiar voice came from.

Rafiki was dangling from a branch, carrying a pair of baobab fruits. He then jumped and landed safely, his staff that he let go while making the jump returning to his grip. "Honey badgers, they are the Pridelands' smartest animal when--Oh-" whatever wise saying he intended to say ended there when the baobab fruits fell and rolled away.

Judging by his relaxed movement and the depleting number of food they have left at their tree, Jasiri assumed he was here to refill his stock. After all, he had to share them with her ever since he allowed her to stay with him. Even more of them since her curious condition came about, she thought guiltily.

Rafiki bent down to catch them from rolling any more. The scene of an old mandrill chasing his food brought an amused smile to Jasiri's muzzle. She went to help him out.

Bunga had another idea(and another kind of thinking pattern as well). "You hear that, everybody? I'm the Pridelands' smartest animal! Rafiki said so. Say... Wait till my uncles hear about this," Anything Jasiri was and was about to do had to stop after she registered those words.

Jasiri changed her course toward the honey badger. She tried calling after him, "Wait, Bunga. You misunderstood-" but he was already moving and way too distracted to even respond to, let alone hear, her voice. She too couldn't chase him, as somebody else's voice took her attention away.

"Lion Guard!" Kion's voice resounded in the distance.

She was already far behind by the time she got back to look at Bunga.

"I'll go after him," Fuli said faintly, but loud enough for her hyena ears. Sound of grass ruffling followed and the cheetah was gone.

About a few seconds later, Kion himself emerged from below the valley. "Is everyone alright? I heard from Ono. Where's the water?" He eyed around, likely expecting to see water flowing about.

Jasiri assured him everything was fine. "Everything's taken care of. Nobody got hurt, but Bunga went somewhere and Fuli is after him," She noticed the lack of an egret's presence. "Where's Ono?"

"Here! Along with guests," Ono answered as he landed, an obvious desperation in his voice. She raised her brow. Her curiousity got its answer after seeing two familiar baboons approaching them.

"Gumba?"

"And his mother," Beshte added.

"Hi, Jasiri!" Gumba smiled at him.

Jasiri looked at Kion for futher explanation.

At that moment also, they were again interrupted, this time by Rafiki.

"Yes, yes. Honey badgers are the smartest, when they think before they speak. If not--Hee--total disaster!" The implication of his words drowned the mandrill's amused laugh from both Jasiri and Beshte, leaving their face almost void of colour. "Oh, Kion, Ono, even you young baboon and his mother. What did I miss?"

The hippo looked at the hyena. "Should we..."

Jasiri shook her head, almost whining. "No, we still have works to do. We can trust Fuli to keep Bunga in check,"

"Um... not that I don't trust Fuli or anything like that, but care to fill us in?" Kion stepped forward.

Beshte nodded as he gladly took that role, simplifying it as much as he could. "Lake Kiziwa poured out after you left, then Bunga came up with a plan that worked. Then Rafiki comes and a misunderstanding happened. Bunga's probably with his uncles, and troubles are about to happen. And now here we are," he summed the important events that had transpired during the lion and egret's absence. "Oh, and Fuli is after him,"

Jasiri nodded.

"What about you? Why are they here? Not that I mind," she asked while approaching the pair of mother and son. She half expected the mother to run away or something along the line, but found herself wide eyed when the baboon wrapped her arms around her neck, a smile on her face. She was hugging her. "Um, thank you?" Jasiri drew a smile, albeit confused.

"I should be the one thanking you! You're the Kindest, right? I heard of you from my baby how you tried to sacrifice yourself to save his friend! Can my baby and I please move in with you?"

Jasiri glanced at the Lion Guard leader, a question implied by her expression only.

Kion grinned nervously, watching awkwardly at the scene before him. And awkward it was, Jasiri thought. Gumba thought the same too, as he tugged at his mother's fur.

"Mom, you're embarassing yourself,"

Finally, the baboon let go of her, though not before locking her expectant eyes to Jasiri's nervous ones. The hyena's eyes went to Ono, who sighed, whatever for.

Ono explained to her how the baboon troop they rescued earlier got into an 'argument that involved fighting' in his words. Mama Gumba--she didn't mind being called that--thought their leader was too stubborn and that it was lucky she didn't lose her son along with the fallen tree. Now, they had nowhere to go to, which led them to the Lion Guard. They had tried asking Kion to see if they can stay at Priderock, and Ono if he knew any place they could stay at. In the end, it all came to asking Jasiri. Rafiki thankfully was there to answer for her.

"It would be my pleasure to have more company at my tree-" There were hopes in both baboons' eyes when he said that. "-but I cannot approve of it," the hopes dimmed out before disappearing completely.

Before anyone could retort or agree with anything, Rafiki pointed his staff and gently poked at the adult baboon's chest with it. She just responded by backing away and raising her arms as if surrendering. "You. I will accompany you to your former family and see for myself how irresponsible the leader is. If he is what you described him as, I won't deny you the right to live in my tree. It is big after all," The hopes sparked alive once more in their eyes. "Now, do you agree to my requirements?" they quickly nodded.

"Very well,"

Jasiri thought the situation through. "I would like to go as well, if it's okay with you. All of you," She turned to Kion and the two remaining guards. She thought she saw the lion's expression change a little, but found nothing to prove so once she looked directly. She added that to the row of questions to be asked later. "Somebody needs to go just in case something goes wrong. Rafiki is old, and I'm not sure his staff is enough to help if a fight broke out. I also happen to know some of the baboons in Gumba's troop. If anything happened, I can at least calm things down," She doubt Rafiki being old merited being an excuse considering how healthy and active he was despite his age, but mentioned it anyway.

From their looks, the guards didn't seem to have any problem with that, and neither do Rafiki, Gumba, or his mother. Though Kion did have that contemplating look for awhile before nodding.

"I guess," Kion agreed. "But be careful, and join us once you're done. Me and Ono ran into a few animals asking for help on our way here. There must be many more,"

Jasiri nodded, smiling. "Will do," she joined Rafiki and the pair of baboons, the former raising a brow in her direction.

"Old, am I?" Jasiri responded with a thin line of smile made of little guilt and a lot of mischievousness.

Kion turned to the rest. "Come on, Lion Guard. There are turtles waiting to be flipped," he paused before sighing softly. "and a day worth of works need to be done before Bunga accidentally destroys the whole Pridelands, as impossible as it is. Hopefully Fuli can handle him till then," Jasiri nodded in silent agreement, hearing that statement.

"Let's go. Take care," Kion said and left together with Beshte and Ono, leaving an odd group of three primates and one feline(part-feline anyway) for their own matter to resolve.

~~~

 **So, give your thoughts. Contructive critism is welcomed.**

 **yingyangmaster:** _Thank you for your nice words. I'll try my best. And thanks too for the welcome_

 **Gracekim1:** _Honestly, if Janja really has a secret sister, I think I might make her my fourth favourite Lion Guard character, ust next to Fuli. It would depend though._

 **DragoonSensei:** _Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it reaches your expectation._


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